We’re not particularly interested in covering JD Vance anymore here at Lit Hub. Granted, he did at one point write a book, but Hillbilly Elegy is looking more and more like that classic first move from the politician’s playbook, the Read more >
The Shirley Jackson Awards have announced their impressive list of nominees for the 2020 awards. The awards were established to celebrate the literary career of Shirley Jackson and recognize works that represent “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, Read more >
A Series of Unfortunate Events looms large over my childhood. It was my favorite series growing up. Personally, I was never a Harry Potter person. I know you, dear open-minded reader of this site, won’t @ me, but the children Read more >
Here’s a welcome bit of good news: After initially denying Nikole Hannah-Jones (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and MacArthur fellow) tenure for an endowed professorship at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media—reportedly due to political pressure from the majority Republican Read more >
Cast your mind back to the fall of 2013. Benedict XVI has recently resigned as pope. Edward Snowden has just made his seismic disclosures. Croatia has become the 28th member of the European Union. And volcanic mega-producer Scott Rudin has picked Read more >
At long last! Jennifer Egan is not only publishing a new novel but it’s a “sibling sequel” to her Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Critics Circle-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad. Like Goon Squad, The Candy House features a cast Read more >
To my fellow villagers— I’ve seen the tweets, comments, and high school English papers, and I want to respond. I am deeply sorry for my role in creating the Lottery, and in continuing to uphold systematic neighbor stoning. My youth, Read more >
Today, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced that Joy Williams will receive the 2021 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which honors an American writer whose body of work is distinguished for both its mastery and originality of thought Read more >
It’s exciting to recognize the emotional power of your own writing; to look back and think, “How did I come up with that?” But apparently that power can also be scary: Charles Dickens, after writing the disturbing scene in Oliver Read more >
The Arthur C. Clarke Award, which recognizes the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year, has released their 2021 shortlist—and for the first time in the award’s 35-year history, the shortlist is entirely Read more >
Chicago-based music critic, producer, and author Jessica Hopper is far from a newbie. Hopper, who began writing music criticism at the age of 15, is releasing an expanded, revised edition of her critically-acclaimed book The First Collection of Criticism by Read more >
If you want to write and seek out information about how to do so, you’ll be inundated with tips: tips on craft, tips on developing a writing practice, tips on building a career. Exposed to dozens of often-conflicting schools of Read more >
William Golding famously wrote Lord of the Flies (1954)—the story of a bunch of posh English school boys stranded on a deserted island—to redress what he saw as the unrealistically optimistic castaway stories of the 19th century, asking his wife Read more >
Three years ago, People of Color in Publishing and Latinx in Publishing—two grassroots organizations striving to uplift marginalized voices in our industry—invited BIPOC book publishing employees to participate in an anonymous survey. The goal of this survey was “to collect Read more >
Like some other writers we know, James Baldwin was deeply influenced by music. His writing process was tied to his listening process: he credits Bessie Smith’s records with enabling him to write Go Tell It on the Mountain. Though there’s Read more >
Singer-songwriter, producer, easy-breezy-beautiful CoverGirl spokesperson, and actress Janelle Monáe is venturing into the literary world. On the heels of the great Octavia Butler’s birthday, Monáe has sold her sci-fi short story collection to David Pomerico at HarperVoyager, reports Publishers Weekly. Read more >
Another day, another attempt at reputation laundering via the publishing industry! This time, it’s Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, noted bridge troll, and the star of one of my favorite films, Chris Christie Heckled by a School Teacher While Read more >
Those of you with fond memories of LeVar Burton reading to you through Reading Rainbow, you have the opportunity to turn the tables: with some work on your end, LeVar Burton might read your story aloud. Lit Hub is excited Read more >
Why, you might be asking yourself, do all these introductions begin with some reference to the season or to how hot it is? It’s because that’s all I can think about. The feels-like temperature in Brooklyn is 100 degrees, and Read more >
Maud Newton, original literary blogger and a valued presence on literary Twitter, will publish a memoir next year that grew out of her Harper’s cover essay, “American’s Ancestry Craze.” Lit Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for that book, Read more >
